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JAMES BABGOGK, or BOSTONA.MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent No. 82,582, dated September assess.

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' TO ALL WHOhdIT MAY CONCERN:

Be it 'known that I, Janna F. Bancoox, et'lBoston, in the county ofSufl'olk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an ImprovedCombustible Gas-Generating Composition for Eire-Extibgnilhing Apparatus,&c.; and I do hereby declare that the following is adescription of myinvention euflicient to enable those skilled in the art to practise it.

The invention'relates to the manufacture ofa composition, to be used ingenerating a gas-or gases by combastion, with particular reference toemployment in fire-extinguishing apparatus, or inthat class of such appsratue in which water contained in a vessel is ejected therefrom by thepressure of a gal generated within the same vessel, or within acompartment thereof, though the invention may be usedfor simply railingor forcing water or other fluid.

In the fire-extinguishing apparatus of this kind in common use, the gasis evolved by combining an aci and an alkali within the vessel togenerate-carbonic-ncid gas, and in the 'Phillips fro' 'lnnihilatingapparatus,

, made some ycard ago, a compound was burned to generate carbonic-acidgas, which gas-its'elf was used to quench My inzention consists,primarily, in melting or combi'nin'ga composition (the combustion ofwhich sh'all generate a gas to eject the fluid froma'water-containingvessel) with a vehicle which shall prevent thecompound from exploding, -or which shall cause it, when lighted, toconsume gradually, but with suflicientrapidity to generate the gas insuch manner as to create a,uniform'pressure upon a body of'watcrcontained in the vessel,

in a compartment of-which the charge is placed, until the whole of thewater, or aiiy desirable part thereof, shall be ejected by the pressureof the gas. l

The ingredients and proportions I prefer to use in making thecompositions are mixtures of chloratqs or nitrates of potsssa or soda,with charcoal or sulphur, and silicates of soda or potassa, in liquid fl -"U E proportion. according to the object for which the'mixture isused. If for raising or propelling water simply,

gases insoluble in water are required, such as nitrogen or carbonicoxide. The Intel these is produced by a mixture of one hundred andtwenty-two pirts chlorate of potassa, thirty-six parts charcoal, both infine powder,

and made into a paste with liquid silicate of soda or potassa, andcarefullydried.

Another mixture for the same purpose, furnishing both nitrogen andcarbonic oxide,'consists of nitrate of Beds, n ndre and seventy parts;charcoal, sixty parts: Nitrate of potassa, two hundred and two parts,may be substituted for the nitrate of soda. These ingredients are to bein fine'powder, and'mixed with si icat of soda or potassa, as before.

If it is desired to produce carbonic acid gas, the. following compoundsm y be 1 011101510 0f P one hundred and twenty-two parts, charcoal,eighteori parts, mixedwith silicate of soda'or'potassa; or, nitrate .efsoda, one hundred and seventy parts, charcoal, thirty parts, mixed withsilicate of .potssseor soda; or,

nitrate of potossa, two hundred and two parts, charcoal, thirty parts,mixed with silicate of potassa or soda. Chlorate of soda may, in allcasee,'be substituted for the potassasalt according to its chemicalequivalent. Where nitrates are used, nitrogen gas is produced-at thesame time as the carbonic acid.

For producing sulphurous acid, mixtures of chlorate of pctsssa, onehundred and twenty-two parts, sulphur, forty-eight parts, mixed wi hsilicate of potassa or soda. Nitrate of potassa or soda may besubstituted in this case, in proportion according to its chemicalequivalent.

These mixtures should be made aiid haiidled with care, the ingredientspowdered separately, and mixed on i a list surface, or by siftingi fAfter the addition of the silicate of soda, there is no specialprecaution to be taken, as they arethen nonexplosive, and take fire w thsome diiiiculty. A quantity of powder, for example, being placcd uponsome of the paste, it may be fired without lighting the mixtures.Friction or percussion does not afi'ect them.

Being thus prepared, the chargeswill remain unaltered for any length oftime, being always ready for use. The weight of the material requiredfor charging a mcchine will vary, aocordingto its sine and the pressurerequired, snd should be determined, by experiment for each mixtnre, foreach different-sized machine. Heving determined the amount for ismachine of a certain size, the amount found to give the requisitepressure should always be adhered tie for the seine-sized machine.

For 0 machine holding eight gallons of water, from four to six -ouneesof either mixture will be found snficient, producing is pressure varyingfrom forty-fiveto aeventy five pounds. By using I. lnrgercherge, agreater pressure may he obtsined.

Ammonia-sister, contsining, as it does, so much gss in solution, the geebeing driven out by the slightest best, end possessing so greet edifl'usive power, is also :iwfi-y powerful agent in extinguishing flame,while the emmonie and the silicate of sods together, when thrown withwater upon fire, produce one of the most eficient egents possible forrspidly and completely cx tinguishing tires, and rendering, at the sometime, these substances wet with the mixture incspable of furthercombustion.

The cost of msterisls for producing the composition being very slight,enables s. large body of liquid bethrown upon e fire by connecting a.tank holding from ten to twenty barrels of wetsr with suitable pipes,which may be csrrisd upon each story of a. building, hsving stop-cocksat various points, to which s hose mey be sttsohed, ss required, timefurnishing a large amount of water almost instantly, which can be thrownto e greet distance or height.

I clsim s combustible gas-generating composition, for use infire-extinguishing and other fluid-ejecting sppsretus, when combinedwith i'vehicle for arresting rapid combustion, substentielly asdescribed.

JAS. F. BABCOCK. Witnesses:

J. B. Caesar, Fesncre Gouw.

